Category / Apple

by ibmacin

My Favorite Things of 2022

We have come to the end of another year. I hope 2022 was a good year for everyone. One tradition I have had on this site is to post my favorite things of the year. Let’s get right to it.

Air Jordan 1 Low (Black/White/ Gray)

I absolutely love sneakers and picked up several pairs this year. Of everything I purchased, these are easily my favorites. I find that they go with almost any outfit due to the basic colorway. I think they look great and I find myself choosing these shoes all of the time when I am going out.

Bellroy Lite Sling

I picked up this bag on Black Friday at a pretty good discount. This is a perfect small sling that is extremely lightweight and is available in a very unique chalk color. I love bringing this bag with me with my iPad mini, Nintendo Switch or Analogue Pocket, sunglasses, keys, wallet, battery pack, & AirPods neatly tucked inside.

Analogue Pocket

In a perfect world, this would have been on last year’s list. Despite ordering this over a year ago, I finally received it this December. This is my first Analogue product and I couldn’t be more impressed. It has tremendous build quality, can play any of my collection of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, & Game Boy Advance games out of the box, and after a few updates, supports emulation extremely well. Other than my Switch, this is my go-to handheld now.

Thread Wallet

I purchased this wallet early in the year and it has been perfect. I have always preferred thin minimal wallets and this one fits the bill quite nicely. It can hold 5 or 6 cards as well as cash, which is all that I need. I highly recommend this wallet if you are looking for a thin minimal style wallet. They are available in a variety of patterns and colors if you aren’t boring like me.

M1 iPad Pro 11″ w/ Magic Keyboard

I got an incredible deal on this iPad Pro this fall. I’m a big pawn shop guy, most of my tech is bought secondhand. I was able to get this iPad for only $300 and I got the Magic Keyboard for around $100. This iPad is absolutely my daily driver. It goes everywhere with me and it is so portable. When paired with the Magic Keyboard, it brings back memories of my beloved MacBook Air 11″ that I had years ago. Yes, I occasionally use my iMac, MacBook Pro and iPad mini, but this is the device I use 90% of the time.

The North Face Thermoball Mules

I saved the best item for last! I was in the market for some new slippers this year as I am very cold natured and my feet are always cold during the winter. I picked these slippers up and I am in love! I very much appreciate that they have backs on them so they don’t make a lot of noise when I am walking on my hardwood floors. The best part by far though is how toasty they keep my feet. I have never had any other slipper that has come close to how warm these are. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend these to anyone who doesn’t have very cold feet, as they would probably be too warm for most people. But for someone like me, they are truly perfect.

by ibmacin

AirPods Pro 2 Impressions

I picked up a pair of the second generation AirPods Pro recently and wanted to share my thoughts on them so far. For reference, I picked up the original AirPods Pro in December of 2019 and have used them almost every day since. Before that I used the regular AirPods daily.

So why did I upgrade from the original AirPods Pro? My originals still worked great. I love the noise cancelling, transparency mode, and how well they work when you are in the Apple ecosystem. There was really only one major reason I upgraded and that was battery life. As I mentioned in my intro, I have worn my original AirPods Pro pretty much every day since I got them and boy does the battery life on them bear this out. They are constantly needing to be recharged, both the AirPods themselves as well as the charging case that they go in. It is truly unfortunate as other than the battery life, they are perfectly functional. I wish there was a way to replace the batteries in them but as far as I know, there isn’t.

Truthfully, I have been putting up with the bad battery life for months now as I definitely didn’t want to buy another pair of the originals at full price. So I was thrilled when Apple announced the second generation model. I picked them up about a week ago and have been putting them through the paces.

So what is different about the second generation Pros? Let’s start with the case that they charge in. While it looks almost identical and has the same dimensions as the original case, it has gained quite a few new features. It now supports the Find My network and has a new speaker on the bottom to help you find them if you misplace them. While I haven’t had any trouble keeping track of my Pros, I’m sure this is a welcome addition to the millions of people who have misplaced theirs. The case also supports adding a lanyard to the side. I know many people bought cases for their original AirPod Pro just to do this so it was a smart move for Apple to build it in to the case. Also, the new case supports charging via MagSafe as well as with an Apple Watch charger, both features my originals lacked and both welcome additions.

As for the AirPods themselves, they have gained both improved transparency and improved noice cancellation modes. The transparency mode, which was already great on the originals, is outstanding now. It is so good that it is sounds like you don’t even have the AirPods in your ears anymore. It’s that good. Likewise the noice cancellation mode is also greatly improved. Apple claims up to 2x better noise cancellation which I can’t exactly prove but I did immediately notice a big difference upon trying them. Certain sounds that the original Pros did not fully block out are now fully cancelled out with the new Pros. Other than those improvements, you can now control the volume from the AirPods themselves by swiping up or down on the stems. This has worked great for me without any false positives in my testing. Lastly and most important of all to me is the improved battery life. Apple says that the second gen Pros will get up to 6 hrs. on a charge now which is an improvement of 1 hour compared to the first gen Pros. But for me with my nearly 3 years old first gen pros, I’m getting closer to double the battery life than I am used to. It is so nice not having to constantly recharge them and is by far my favorite thing about this new pair.

In conclusion, while I truly hope that Apple can figure out a way to keep older AirPods from being wasted with some kind of battery replacement program, I never really hesitated on buying a new pair. For me, my AirPods Pro are at or near the top of my most used tech items. I use them all day at work, at home when putting the kids to bed, on walks, and so many other situations. They are truly a magical device and I am very happy to have my new pair. Thanks for reading!

by ibmacin

The Mighty Mini

I recently picked up the new iPad mini 6 and wanted to give some quick thoughts on it after about a week of using it.

I have always loved the iPad mini, going all the way back to the original one from 2012. I have owned each model, save for the 3rd generation. Most recently I got the iPad mini 5th generation when it was released in March 2019. I was so excited that Apple was updating the mini that I preordered it the moment it was announced. The iPad mini 5 was my constant companion up until back in January of this year when I unfortunately lost it. I have never lost an electronic like this in my life but after spending a few weeks trying to find it by retracing my steps as well as using Apple’s Find My app, it was indeed lost for good. 😢

I found myself craving another mini but by the time I had lost it, that model was about 2 years old and I hated to buy another one at full price. Apple complicates things for us mini lovers as they only sporadically update it. I decided to take a wait & see approach, and I’m glad I did as on September 14th this year, Apple unveiled the iPad mini 6th generation. Finally, I could have the mini back in my life!

Apple really went above and beyond on the new mini. I believe this is because they know that they only update it on occasion, so they make it count when they do. The iPad mini 6 introduces a lot of new features for the mini line. It has an all-new design mirroring the recent iPad Pros as well as the 4th generation iPad Air. This means saying goodbye to the home button as well as a introducing a squared off design and an edge to edge screen. The body of the iPad mini 6 is actually slightly smaller than the mini 5 it replaces but the screen has gotten slightly larger due to the reduced bezels, from 7.9″ to 8.3″. All of these are welcome changes in my opinion and make the iPad mini 6 truly feel modern again.

I picked up a Space Gray iPad mini with 256gb of storage and 5G cellular connectivity. As this is my favorite model of iPad, I don’t mind spending a bit more, although it does seem that Apple is reaching the upper limit for how much they can charge for the mini line. 💸💸💸 After using it for about a week, here are my thoughts so far:

  • One thing I love about the mini is it can just be an iPad. With Apple pushing the iPad Pros the last few years, with their keyboard cases, multitasking, and best in class performance, more and more people are now using their iPad’s as laptops and their main computers. This is fine of course, I use my iPad Pro in this same manner. However, there is something about the mini, with it’s compact size that is too small for a good keyboard case and a screen that is better suited for single-screen tasks than multitasking, that hearkens back to how we all used the original iPads, as just a fun device. I love using the mini full screen in portrait way more than in landscape. This is a big strength of the mini in my opinion.
  • As I mentioned before, the size of the mini is not conducive to a keyboard case. This means you are going to be doing a lot of typing using the mini’s on-screen keyboard, which is fantastic, particularly in portrait mode. I absolutely love thumb typing on the mini in portrait orientation, it is so so good.
  • I have been very impressed with the speed of the mini as well. Apple gave it their latest processor, the A15, the same chip they put in the also recently released iPhone 13 line, and it is fast. I have yet to find anything that can slow this iPad down. I would imagine that this chip will perform very well for years to come, which is great because it will most likely be years before Apple updates the mini again. Likewise, I appreciate that the iPad mini 6 has moved to 5G for its cellular data connection. This insures that it will get the best cellular speeds for years to come.
  • Another new feature for the mini 6 is support for the second generation Apple Pencil. While the 5th generation iPad mini did support the original Apple Pencil, I much prefer the gen 2 Pencil. It has a nicer matte finish, has a flat side, and most of all charges in a much more elegant way than the first gen did. Huge upgrade in my opinion.
  • Another feature the mini 6 added is support for Center Stage for the front facing camera. The was a feature first introduced with the M1 iPad Pros earlier in 2021. Basically, Center Stage utilizes the wide angle front facing camera by showing you a cropped view and then following you if you move to the left or the right. This allows you to actually move around a bit when on a long video call, knowing that the iPad will keep you in frame. It can also detect if someone joins you in the room and automatically zoom out to keep both subjects in the frame. It’s a great feature and it just works.
  • My favorite feature of the new mini is something it shares with all of the previous minis in the line and that is simply it’s portability. I love how easy the mini travels with you. It fits in my jacket pocket, my small sling bags, the back pocket of my jeans, & you barely even notice it in a larger bag. There is rarely a reason not to take it with you because of this. Having an iPad that is this powerful but also this small is a really useful thing.

These are my thoughts on the iPad mini 6. It really is a fantastic little device. The main way I am using it so far is for reading saved articles, going through my RSS feeds, playing Apple Arcade games, scrolling thru Twitter, and watching YouTube. I’m very glad to have the mini back in my life.

by ibmacin

My Favorite Things of 2020

Its been another year and what a doozy huh? 2020 will hopefully not be topped for some time. Personally, 2020 has not been stellar for me & my family. Between crashing my bike and breaking my dominant arm, getting COVID 19, and the whole country being shut down for most of the year, I will not look back fondly at the year 2020.

However, I don’t want to dwell on the negative so let’s get into some of my favorite things I picked up this year.

Denali Travel Pants

I have been wanting to get some pants that are more comfortable than the jeans I typically wear and I finally found them this year. The Denali Travel Pants are great. First, they are super affordable with a Sam’s Club membership, about $12.99 a pair. They are also much lighter than jeans, have a great stretch to them, and dry out so much faster if they get wet. I now wear these pants about 70% of the time & I couldn’t be happier about them.

Bellroy Sling

Another year, another sling bag. This year I picked up the Bellroy Sling in the light gray color. A few standouts about this sling: The way the straps are designed make this bag self compressing. The lighter you pack the more compact it sits on your back. This is a very clever feature. The other feature I like is the way the buckle on the straps is magnetic which makes it super convenient to get on and off and also doubles as a fidget toy in a pinch. I love this category of bags because you can carry a lot more that what your pockets can hold but they are way more compact than wearing a backpack everywhere.

iPad Pro 12.9 3rd Generation

Early in 2020, I picked up my dream iPad, the 12.9″ 3rd generation iPad Pro 256gb w/ Cellular. I have had iPad’s all the way back to the very first one 10 years ago. This is my favorite so far. I love the new flat edge design Apple went with as well as the much improved Apple Pencil. For me, the 12.9″ iPad Pro is a laptop replacement. I know it’s not for everyone but it suits me perfectly. I love the giant screen size, incredible performance, cellular connectivity, and the 120hz display. I love this iPad so much that I picked up a secondhand one later on in 2020 to upgrade my wife’s current iPad.

PlayStation 5

I had to work to get it and it still involved a lot of luck, but I was able to get a PlayStation 5 a couple of days after it launched. I couldn’t be happier with it. The new DualSense controller it comes with is the biggest leap in controllers in a very long time, the SSD storage is so fast that games load almost instantly, and as someone who doesn’t have a gaming PC, the PlayStation 5 has been my introduction to 4K, 60FPS w/ Ray Tracing gaming. It is glorious.

Apple Watch Series 5

I found an Apple Watch Series 5 secondhand this year and upgraded from my Series 4. The big upgrade here is the always-on screen. Ever since I got the very first Apple Watch on day one, I have wanted an always-on screen. It has been just as handy as I thought it would be. I also got the cellular version this time. I love being able to go on a run without my phone and still be able to track my workout, listen to music, & know that someone can still reach me in case of an emergency. These two things have made me appreciate and enjoy the convenience of the Apple Watch even more.

Arcade1Up Ms. Pac Man Cocktail Machine

This barely made the cut as I got it in late December of 2020. As a kid I spent countless quarters and time on a Ms. Pac Man cocktail table at a local restaurant my family frequented. So when Arcade1Up announced they were making a version of this, I knew I had to have it! Sitting down at this machine and chasing high scores on Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, and more has brought back some great memories from my childhood. This is a childhood dream come true and I still can’t believe I have this in my house. As an added bonus, I have been able to introduce my toddler to these classic games, and much to my surprise he really likes them! Some things are just timeless.

by ibmacin

My Favorite Things of 2019

Hello all, I know it has been some time since I last posted here but I’m going to try and post more frequently going forward. I thought a fun way to get back into writing would be a list of some of my favorite items that I picked up in 2019. These are all things that brought me a lot of joy over the past year. Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

  • Giant Escape 3 hybrid bicycle: I got on a fitness kick in the second half of this year and this is one of my favorite fitness related purchases I have made to date. I picked this bike up secondhand and I absolutely love it! I have put over 300 miles on it already and I see many more in my future. I even started commuting to work some on this bike, which has been a ton of fun!

  • Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19 running shoes – My other favorite fitness related purchase, these shoes have been incredible for my running. I got these from a local running store where they do a gait test on you before they recommend what type of shoe you should go with. I was experiencing a lot of pain with my previous shoes and it turns out I had been wearing completely the wrong shoes. These have been a total game-changer for me!

  • Topo Chico – As part of my effort to lose some weight and become more fit this year, I gave up soda and caffeine completely. I quickly became bored of only drinking water so I started to try out various sparkling waters. It took some trial and error to figure out what I liked and didn’t. Topo Chico mineral water is by far my favorite drink now. I keep some stocked at both home and work now and I truly believe that discovering this wonderful drink has kept me from going back to soda.

AirPods Pro

 

  • AirPods Pro  – The newest item on this list. I picked these up just the other day. They are better in some ways and worse in some ways compared to the regular AirPods. The noise cancelling is absolutely fantastic and the sound quality is better to my ears. On the other hand, they are not as comfortable as the regular AirPods. Still, I’m very glad I picked these up.

  • North Face Field Bag sling – In an effort to get away from carrying a backpack every single day, I ordered this more compact sling bag after doing a lot of research online. I am absolutely in love with this bag! I can carry all of my daily essentials, save for my water bottle (more on that later), in a much smaller package than with a backpack. I carry my iPad mini, Switch Lite, sunglasses, battery pack, cables, keys, wallet, & AirPods and it all just fits perfectly. Embrace the man bag and live your best life!

  • Hydro Flask Tag Along Bottle Slings – I discovered these at a local outdoor gear store and fell in love with them! The Hydro Flask water bottles have been my favorite water bottles for years now and this is a great way to carry them around on walks with the family, at the farmer’s market, the zoo, or wherever you want to have a water bottle handy but don’t want to hold it.

  • Nintendo Switch Lite – The Nintendo Switch Lite is such a great little handheld! I am living the two Switch life now, with my original Switch pretty much always docked at home while the Switch Lite goes everywhere with me now. I love the compact size, how sturdy it feels in the hands, and the classic d-pad that they included on this model.

  • iPad Mini 5 – I thought we might never see the day but Apple decided to update my all-time favorite iPad this year! I have always loved the iPad Mini ever since Apple released the original one years ago. I had to give up my 4th generation iPad Mini a couple of years ago as it had gotten too slow for my liking but I happily picked up the iPad Mini 5 at launch and I am so glad I did. This thing is extremely fast, super thin and lightweight, and is much more than just a big iPhone, especially now that iPad OS is out. I take this guy everywhere with me!

  • Birkenstock Arizona EVAs – Full disclosure, I actually got a pair of these last year but really only started wearing them this year. The Birkenstock Arizona EVA’s have become my go-to summer shoe. I love how they look but more importantly, I love how they feel. They are incredibly comfortable! I wear them with or without socks and I picked up my second pair this summer. I also love how they are waterproof so if they get dirty, you can just wash them off and they look brand new. They are also relatively affordable compared to the leather and cork Birkenstocks.

Better Sweater

  • Patagonia Men’s Performance Better Sweater Hoody– I picked up this fleece sweater from Patagonia after doing a lot of research and it is very close to being the perfect sweater for me. I went with the performance hooded version of this jacket as it has some stretchy side panels which give you better movement compared to the regular version of the Better Sweater and I really wanted a hood. This, along with my Nano Puff jacket I got last year, are my go-to jackets and will be so for years to come.
by ibmacin

The iPad Pro

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I purchased an iPad Pro 12.9″ (the big one) a few weeks ago and wanted to give my opinions on it now that I have had it for a while. I got the silver 128gb cellular iPad Pro. I also purchased the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil (more on the accessories later). I was not sure how I was going to like it, at first it seems comically large, but after spending some time with it I absolutely love it.
The Hardware – There’s no denying that the 12.9″ iPad Pro is huge. It is also pretty heavy when compared to the standard 9.7″, 1.57 pounds vs .96 pounds, but it is about as light as it can be given the size of the device. The Retina display is a joy to look at & I just love how big the display is. In fact, it has quite a bit more screen space then my laptop for the last several years, the 11″ MacBook Air. The speakers are a huge improvement over the previous iPads. There are now four speakers as opposed to two and they are on each corner of the iPad Pro. They get really loud if you crank them, so much so that I have not found the need to connect it to a bluetooth speaker. The battery life has been really good as well. I’m getting 12+ hours even when watching a ton of video. And the standby time has been great as well. I love that there is just zero battery anxiety with this device, if you have it fully charged in the morning you will not run it down in the course of a day.

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The battery life on the iPad Pro is legit.

Another new hardware addition on the iPad Pro is the new smart connector on the bottom of the iPad when it is in landscape. This 3 pin connector allows it to attach to various 1st and 3rd party accessories wirelessly and with no power required from the accessory. This is a really cool new feature, one that I use nearly constantly with my Smart Keyboard.

Smart Connector

The Smart Connector

Lastly, the A9x chip and 4gb of ram make the iPad Pro 12.9″ super fast. Everything just flies on this thing.

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Test results from the Geekbench app on my iPad Pro 12.9″

Overall, I really like the hardware of the iPad Pro. However there are a few nitpicks that I have with the hardware:

  1. Apple ships the iPad Pro with a dinky 12w charger that takes a very long time to charge the iPad. The 12.9″ iPad Pro supports fast charging via USB-C, but you have to pay about $75 for the necessary charger and cable. This is ridiculous on a device at this price point. They should ship it with the proper adaptor and cable.
  2. The iPad Pro is really not a one handed device, unlike the mini or regular size iPad. It is pretty unwieldy in portrait orientation. If you want something to read books on or slip into your purse, this is probably not the right device for you.

The Software – The new multitasking features introduced in iOS9 for the iPad were just made for the 12.9″ iPad Pro. Multitasking truly feels at home on this big screen. It gives you almost 2 full size iPad apps side by side. Check out the multitasking view in the picture below.

Narwhal (Reddit client) on the left, Safari on the right, and a picture in picture baseball game on top.

 

I have found myself using the multitasking view so much more with the Pro than I did with my iPad Air 2. There are a few other new software features that the 12.9 Pro gets, namely a full size software keyboard with a number row & a two column today view. These are still the early days for the 12.9″ iPad so while I feel like things will get better on the software front, not everything is rosy right now. A few of my gripes are –

  1. You can only have the same amount of icons on the home screen as all of the other iPads. There is so much wasted space!
  2. Some of the apps are still not optimized for split screen (Pocket), picture in picture (YouTube), or even the new screen size 😡 (Facebook).
  3. The multitasking app picker is just awful at trying to find the app you want. There needs to be a complete redesign as well as a search bar.

The Accessories – When Apple announced the iPad Pro, it also announced two brand new accessories that only work with the Pro – The Smart Keyboard & the Apple Pencil. I own both and would like to tell you my thoughts on each.

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The smart keyboard is awesome, it has a full sized keyboard & doubles as a cover for the front of the iPad Pro.

The Smart Keyboard – Before I purchased my iPad Pro, I did a lot of research on various cases & keyboards. I narrowed my choices down to two options – the Smart Keyboard & the Logitech Create. Both keyboards have their pros & cons & both support the new smart connector on the iPad Pro. I decided on the Smart Keyboard due to it’s lighter weight, more minimal design, & the ability to pull it off as easily as a smart cover when I just want to use it as an iPad. That second part ended up not mattering much because I absolutely love the Smart Keyboard and would estimate it is connected to my iPad Pro 95% of the time that I use it. Some combination of it being a full size keyboard, it instantly responding to you pressing a key with no need to wait for a bluetooth connection, never needing to be charged, and all of the keyboard shortcuts available for the iPad in iOS 9, have just endeared me to this accessory in a way I had not imagined it would. I use it setting on a table, my desk, on my lap, as a stand for watching streaming content, etc. This is the accessory for the iPad Pro in my opinion. It also completely takes away one of my gripes with the 12.9″ Pro, namely it being a little hard to hold comfortably for extended periods. With the Smart Keyboard, my iPad simply rests on my desk or on my lap with no strain on my hands at all. Would it be better with backlit keys and a shortcut row of keys? Absolutely, and I hope that a future version does all of that but for what it is, I absolutely love it.

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😍

The Apple Pencil – Oh, the Apple pencil. It’s so beautiful and I love it so much, but I am not quite as bullish on it as I am on my Smart Keyboard. On one hand it is the best stylus I have ever used hands down. I’ve tried out a bunch of iPad styluses as well as the styluses for the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book, and the Apple Pencil is just better. It has the least amount of latency I have seen and it is a joy to use. It is really fun to use in an adult coloring book app called Pigment. It is also really cool to take handwritten notes in Notability and Apple Notes. It’s useful for editing photos as well. But the main thing it is awesome for is for artists. If you like to draw, this is the stylus for doing that with. Unfortunately, I am not even close to being an artist so using the Apple Pencil for drawing is not something I can really take advantage of. This leads to me not using it that often and for what it cost, it’s hard to justify recommending it if you are not an artist or a big handwritten notes taker. I got it solely because I was excited about trying it out and because it looks so beautiful. I am trying to figure out ways that I can use it but right now it is not used as much as my Smart Keyboard.

So those are my thoughts on the iPad Pro. I love it and use it every day. I go for days without turning on my Mac since I got it. The fact that I can have a 12.9″ Retina display with tons of storage & power, LTE connectivity, all day battery life, and the huge app selection of iOS in a device that weighs what the original iPad weighed is just mind blowing to me.  At the same time, I know that the iPad Pro is not for everybody, especially the big one. It’s not a cheap device & some people are still more comfortable with a laptop or a desktop. That’s perfectly fine, use the device that is right for you but I firmly believe that the 12.9″ iPad Pro is the right device for me.

 

by ibmacin

My Favorite Things of 2015

Hey guys, as we enter into another year I wanted to take minute to look back on 2015 and see what some of my favorite things of 2015 were. These are all things I acquired or enjoyed last year. Here’s to an even better year in 2016!applewatch1

Apple Watch – I love my Apple Watch for many reasons. I love how it looks, I love getting notifications on my wrist, I love how many times it saves me from pulling my phone out of my pocket, but most of all I love the fitness tracking and activity goals it provides. I have been more active this year than in the past 6 or 7 years and trying to fill those little activity rings every day was a big part of it. I even joined a gym for the first time in my life when it got too cold for me to exercise outside. Yes, this product is not for the masses yet but I couldn’t imagine going without it. Link

 

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It’s so beautiful.

S’well Water Bottle – I ran across these in a store downtown and instantly fell in love with the design of this water bottle. If Jony Ive designed a water bottle, I believe it would look something like this. It also keeps my drink cold for 24 hours plus which is awesome. It is expensive but I have loved using it all year. Link

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4th Generation Apple TV – I’ve had every version of the Apple TV but the 4th generation is far and away Apple’s best set-top box they have ever released. From the powerful processor that makes everything run so smooth, to the new app store with a ton of apps to download, it is a pleasure to use. Siri voice control works extremely well & the screen-savers (yes, screen-savers) Apple included are absolutely breathtaking. This is the box we use to watch everything now. The only time the PS4 get’s turned on anymore is for gaming. Link

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Joby Mini Gorillapod & Square Jellyfish Spring Tripod Mount – I have fallen in love with shooting time lapses with my iPhone 6 Plus this year and these two items work together to help me shoot them. I love how compact this whole setup is. It is amazing what you can capture with an iPhone and a few simple tools these days! Link1 Link2

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Oakley Method 360 Backpack – I have a huge weakness for bags and picked up this one down in Austin this year. It has been my everyday bag from that day on. It has all the right pockets and can hold a ton of stuff if needed. Link

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Even with all the hype this movie blew me away. I’ve seen it twice and would see it again in a heartbeat. A true cinematic masterpiece.

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My first two boxes. Sniff.

Fiery Chicken Fries – Burger King – Burger King’s Chicken Fries are one of my all-time favorite foods & when Burger King brought them back permanently in early 2015 I didn’t think that it could get any better than that. I was wrong. In the summer for one month only Burger King released Fiery Chicken Fries and they were glorious! I ate so many of them that I got sick. As soon as I felt better I got some more. I have ate a lot of fast food in my days and I do believe that the Fiery Chicken Fries are the greatest fast food item of all time! Honorable mentions go to Wendy’s Home Style Chicken Strips & Jack In The Box’s Spicy Chicken Bites, may they both rest in peace.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, or Facebook. I am ibmacin on everything.

by ibmacin

Apple Pay

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My local bank has just recently started supporting Apple Pay and I wanted to post my thoughts on it now that I have had it for a couple of weeks. It was a long time coming with me frequently checking this site here to see if my bank had added support for it.

First, let me talk about how Apple Pay works. Basically, you add either a supported credit card or in my case a bank debit card to the wallet app that is on your iPhone or Apple Watch. Once you have that loaded up you can use it at any place that accepts contactless payments.

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If you see one of these logos, you should be good to go.

If you are using your iPhone you simply hold it near the credit card machine and it will prompt you to hold your finger on the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on your iPhone and it will let you know that it went through. If you are using your Apple Watch you simply double press the contacts button on the side and hold your watch near the contactless sensor. The Apple Watch will give you a tap on the wrist as well as give you a little chime that it went through. That’s it. I just works and I must say it is delightful!

Next I want to talk about how I’ve been using Apple Pay. I have used it multiple times with both my iPhone as well as my Apple Watch & I gotta say, while it is cool paying for stuff with my iPhone it brings a real dumb grin to my face to pay with my Apple Watch. I cannot imagine it ever getting old either. It almost always delights the salesperson when they see what you have done. There is something so futuristic about it. So far I have bought several meals, a soda from a Coke machine at an outlet mall, as well as a toy “figurine” from Toys R Us with my watch. I absolutely love it!

Lastly I want to talk about what the future holds for Apple Pay. Obviously, more and more banks will be adding support for it. They all love it because your information is stored in a secure chip on the iPhone itself and it uses one time verification codes with the merchant so it is much more secure than swiping your debit card in a machine or handing your card to someone. But the thing I’m most looking forward to is more retailers supporting it. The dream would be to be able to use Apple Pay exclusively and no longer have to carry a bunch of cards with you. We’re not there yet. I am anxiously waiting for Target as well as my local grocery store to add support for it. For now, I’m happy to use it wherever it is accepted.

by ibmacin

Apple Music

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I wanted to post my first impressions on Apple Music since it launched on Tuesday June 30th. I have been listening to it every day since and here are my initial thoughts.

  • The 3 month free trial is very nice and will give me plenty of time to decide if I want to pay $9.99 or $14.99 for the family plan after the trial ends.
  • The service seems to work pretty good and almost every song I have searched for has been available.
  • The new Music icon on iOS and the new iTunes icon on Mac are pretty dope (a small but nice touch).
  • The curated playlists are really close to my tastes. I have very diverse musical tastes so color me impressed that they were able to provide me with stuff that is interesting to me.
  • Beats 1, the new radio station has been the biggest surprise for me. That Apple was able to pull off an old school radio station but at the same time make it modern for todays kids is most impressive. I have already discovered about 15 songs I really like that I had never heard before thanks to listening to Beats 1. Apple Music makes it very easy to save these songs for offline listening as well. Zane Lowe is my favorite of the Beats 1 DJs so far. I really like his energy.
  • One complaint I have regarding Beats 1 is it has had some hiccups ever since it’s launch. It frequently will stop the music for no reason and force me to hit play again for it to start back up again. Hopefully they get these issues worked out soon.

Over the last few years my music listening has pretty much disappeared as I started listening to more and more podcasts. When I do listen to music it is the same 3 or 4 albums over and over. I have stopped listening to any traditional radio as well as it seems to get more and more terrible as the years go on. I have really enjoyed using Apple music these last few days and while I don’t think I will ever go back to just listening to music I can see myself having a more even split between music and podcasts. Also, even if I decide not to pay for Apple Music after the free trial, Beats 1 will still be free to listen to and I plan to keep tuning in when I can.

by ibmacin

The Apple Watch – First Impressions

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At 9:00 this morning I picked up my shiny new Apple Watch Sport 42mm Silver w/ White Sport Band at my local UPS warehouse. Pro tip: You can select to have your item left at the warehouse instead of going on a UPS truck, that way you can pick it up several hours earlier than the UPS truck would normally get it to you. I have been wearing it ever since and would like to give my first impressions on it. I am planning on reviewing it, but will need to spend much more time with it first.

  • The Apple Watch is very easy and quick to set up. I was up and running in just a few minutes.
  • The magnetic charging cable is pretty good. It attaches to the back very easily and it has a nice long cord.
  • It really is beautiful. I love the way it looks and feels on my wrist.
  • The raise to see the time gesture has worked flawlessly everytime so far for me. Just raise your arm and the watch comes alive. Put your arm back down and the screen turns off. Simple.
  • The taptic touches you get when a notification comes in is so cool. It’s way different than a vibration, just a gentle tap on the wrist.

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  • Force touch is really cool. You just press harder on the screen than you normally would to bring up additional information. I really hope Apple adds this to the next iPhone.
  • The digital crown on the side of the watch is great. Scrolling it with your finger is so smooth. It was a little looser than I was expecting, but it works great for scrolling through messages or emails.
  • Making and receiving phone calls works fine. Yes, it is a little weird talking into your watch, but it’s also incredibly cool! I feel like a secret agent!
  • Likewise, sending messages works great as well. You don’t type them out, but the watch will give you some suggestions or you can dictate a response. You can then either send the message it transcribed or just send the voice clip. It has worked great for me so far.

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  • I think I am really going to enjoy the fitness & activity apps. As I was driving for a couple of hours today, the watch tapped my wrist and said I should get up and stand for a little bit. Thanks, watch, I probably should!
  • There’s already a really good selection of apps available for the watch. There are around 3,000 apps already available on the first day. A few I think are pretty neat are Overcast, Yelp, Instagram, ESPN, and Evernote.
  • I was curious how noticeable it would be wearing it. My wife and I visited a large mall today and nobody seemed to notice it except a couple of employees at the Apple Store. It seems to blend in fairly well.
  • Battery life seems like it will be fine. I charged it over 12 hours ago and it is at 63% right now. Of course, time will tell if this is always the case.

That’s it for now. I am really looking forward to spending more time with it. So far I am very pleased with it.

*Special thanks to my wife for taking the pictures in this post!*